Gold
Implementing a holistic and dynamic risk budget
The National Bank of Denmark has implemented a dynamic risk budget that takes the bank’s unavoidable policy risks as the point of departure. The new approach has led to a reassessment of investment exposures and how they are rebalanced over time and…
World Gold Council launches gold accounting framework
Guidance aims to help central banks harmonise the treatment of gold in their accounts in a way that meshes with broader reserves accounting
Central banks built up gold reserves in 2017
2017 sees eighth consecutive year of net purchases, though only a handful of central banks made substantial changes
Economists are misinterpreting ‘Triffin dilemma’, says BIS paper
Michael Bordo and Robert McCauley argue there was nothing certain about the collapse of Bretton Woods, but Triffin’s successful prediction led others to mistakenly reapply his theory
UK Royal Mint to use blockchain to track gold trades
System will track ownership of gold traded on new platform without the need of a central database; new system will charge small transaction fees but abolish storage fees
SNB profits hit record high
Swiss franc’s depreciation and high stock prices fuel the rise in revenues in the first three quarters
Bundesbank moves 20% of gold reserves back to Germany
Bundesbank no longer stores gold in Paris
Central banks eye gold amid global uncertainty
Rising inflation and the unclear impact of Trump administration policies may lead reserve managers to view gold – and inflation-linked bonds – more favourably
Alan Greenspan says gold standard would have reined in debt
Former Fed chair says US would not be so indebted if it was on the gold standard; gold is the “primary global currency”, Greenspan says
Netherlands Bank to move gold and banknote operations out of Amsterdam by 2022
Highly secure location will house anti-counterfeiting and sustainable banknote operations
Sarb reserve management policy sheds light on tranches
South African Reserve Bank publishes investment policy governing allocation of FX and gold; splits reserves into range of tranches and sub-tranches
Central bank gold purchases near record levels
World Gold Council argues negative interest rates make gold a favourable asset, but Thomson Reuters team sees other factors at play
Eurosystem reveals rules on national asset holdings
ECB publishes an agreement governing the size of ‘non-monetary policy holdings’ at national central banks in the eurozone; aggregate net financial assets totalled €490 billion at end-2015
Bundesbank over halfway towards gold repatriation goal
Deutsche Bundesbank repatriated 210 tonnes of gold in 2015, it says; 41% of gold reserves now housed in Frankfurt
Exchange launches asset-backed coins for asset managers
Asset managers will be able to trade physical assets directly with each other through new asset class dubbed ABCs, which will be tradeable on newly launched exchange Abacas
Austria to repatriate third of gold reserves
Central bank plans to move gold out of the UK and into Austria and Switzerland after court of audit raises concern over ‘high concentration risk’
El Salvador central bank sells 80% of its gold reserves
Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador sold 80% of its gold holdings last month and invested the proceeds in dollars; Venezuela carries out $1 billion gold swap deal
Lithuania bought 1.6 tonnes of gold as part of euro switch
Purchases representing around 25% of total gold holdings made during switch to euro; Bank of Lithuania investment director tells Central Banking investments are now more diverse
Are central banks the ‘Figaro’ of the financial markets?
Central banks continue to play a vital position in the functioning of markets. While this raises significant concerns about moral hazard it is not an unfamiliar role from an historical perspective
SNB expects profit of $39 billion for 2014
Foreign currency positions responsible for most of the profit for Swiss National Bank, which increased its forex reserves by 7% in December following exchange rate pressure
Swiss public reject gold initiative
Referendum sees 77.3% of vote against forcing the SNB to hold 20% of its assets in gold, and prevent it from ever selling them; central bank welcomes the result
Netherlands Bank moves 122.5 tonnes of gold from New York to Amsterdam
Central bank will now keep 31% of its gold reserves in own country; move was designed to create a more even distribution of its reserves across the globe
No evidence US prices were ‘more stable or less uncertain' before or after WWII
Experience shows ‘well-managed fiat regime' can achieve same level of moderation in price swings as gold standard, according to Bank of Korea working paper
SNB speaks out against 'gold initiative'
Swiss National Bank rejects proposals to prevent it from selling gold; Jean-Pierre Danthine argues that ‘currency reserves that cannot be sold are not truly reserves’